Brands Hatch August 2006
Sunday
6th August 2006
EMS
Racing on the Pace at Brands Hatch
The
Irish EMS Racing team enjoyed a successful weekend in the
sixth round of the Superstock 1000FIM Cup by securing a
hard fought eighth place finish. South African rider
Sheridan Morais showed his pace onboard the EMS Racing
Suzuki with a strong weekend performance that saw him
running with the leaders throughout the three day event.
His eighth place finish was all the more impressive
considering that it’s his first ever visit to the
technically demanding Brands Hatch
circuit.
Mark
Pollock unfortunately retired from the 15 lap race, but has
already turned his attentions to the next round of the
championship in Assen, the Netherlands at the beginning of
September.
After
qualifying in ninth place and on the third row of the grid,
Sheridan made a good start onboard the EMS Racing Suzuki
and worked his way up into seventh spot by the end of lap
one. With the lead group just in front, Sheridan set about
closing the gap whilst still fighting for position with
series leader Alessandro Polita and Spaniard Enrique
Rocamora.
As the
race progressed Sheridan had to fend off the close
attentions of Silverstone race winner Claudio Corti but was
unable to keep the Italian rider behind him. With just two
laps to go Sheridan also had to deal with Australian
Brendan Roberts and unfortunately was beaten to the line by
the British Superstock series leader and dropped to eighth
place.
“It
was a good race and I’m pleased with the result we
ended up with and how quickly I was able to learn the
circuit. It’s definitely the toughest track
I’ve ever raced on but I enjoyed it a lot. I felt I
was riding really well in the first half of the race, but
in the second part I started to make a few little mistakes
that cost me some time. I ended up running wide in a few
turns, which you just can’t afford to do at this
level. All in all it’s been really positive weekend.
The bike is working really well and we’re definitely
getting more competitive with every race we go to.”
said Sheridan
After a
tough qualifying session where Mark ended up in
31st
position,
the young Irishman made a brilliant start in the race and
was up to 20th
spot on
lap one. Unfortunately he began to make a series of
uncharacteristic mistakes, which forced him to lose time,
and he ended up taking the mature decision to pull in to
avoid crashing.
“It’s
been a tough weekend especially at a track that I know. In
the race I got really good drive off the line and was in
the thick of the action but I didn’t really have my
head in gear and I was starting to make mistakes and run
wide. In the end I didn’t want to fall off and
decided to pull in which is disappointing but I believe it
was the right decision.” explained
Mark.
There is
now a four week break until the seventh round of the
championship in Assen, but the team will remain busy and
have a test planned at the Dutch circuit in the coming
weeks to acclimatise both riders to the new
circuit.
Saturday
5th August 2006
EMS Racing looking good at Brands Hatch
The EMS Racing team enjoyed a successful day of qualifying for the sixth round of the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup at Brands Hatch with Sheridan Morais securing ninth place on the 36-strong grid. Sheridan’s performance was all the more impressive considering he’d never been to the British circuit before. Brands Hatch is a spectacular venue for racing but due to it’s steep hills, narrow track and technical layout, it is one of the hardest circuits on the calendar to learn.
Whilst Sheridan was able to get the best out of his EMS Racing Suzuki, team mate Mark Pollock had a tougher two days of qualifying and struggled with machine set-up, ending up in 31st place.
After the disappointment of Brno, where 21-year-old Sheridan and the EMS Racing team had been confident that they could finish on the podium, they arrived at Brands Hatch determined to make the most of every lap. From the opening session, Sheridan was on the pace and out performing many of his rivals who already had good knowledge of the British track. With each session, Sheridan’s confidence grew and the bike improved and not even a small crash in Free Practice could deter the gutsy South African and he went out in the final session to improve his lap time even further.
“This track is a hard place to learn. It’s a long, narrow and most of the corners are blind, I’m pleased with the times I’m doing, but it’s so close and I’ve just missed out on the second row. To be honest after riding around the track for the first time I didn’t expect to be able to do the times, it’s a tough place but straight away I was on it.” explained Sheridan.
“In every session I’ve gone quicker although we did lose some time when I crashed after getting a false neutral. On my quick lap in the final session I actually got held up a bit when the two guys in front of me had a coming together, but I still ended up ninth so that’s not too bad. I’m confident I can do some consistent times tomorrow so I’m looking forward to the race.” he continued.
With previous knowledge of the track, 22-year-old Irish man, Mark Pollock was looking forward to the Brands Hatch weekend but a number of set-up problems along with an uncharacteristic engine problem on the EMS Racing Suzuki have made it a difficult weekend so far. Mark and the team worked hard to get the EMS Racing Suzuki performing, but although they were unable to find the optimum set-up they remain confident that they can improve in the race.
“It’s been a difficult weekend so far. I don’t feel totally happy on the bike and as a result my lap times aren’t what they should be. We’ve still got a few things to try and I’m confident I can get my head down and have a good race tomorrow.” said Mark.
The 15 lap Superstock race gets underway at 10.40am local time and with over 100,000 race fans expected to be viewing the action it promises to be the biggest race of Sheridan and Marks life.